The present invention relates generally to animal waste collection devices and, more particularly, to a waste collection apparatus having an impermeable membrane that is selectively extendable outside a housing to collect waste and then retractable to deposit the waste inside the automatically sealed housing.
A common daily task for a dog owner is either to let the dog outside of a house into the backyard or to walk the dog on a leash so that the dog may have a bowel movement outside the house. In either case, the pet owner feels a responsibility (or in some cases a legal mandate) to pick up the waste and dispose of it. Performing this task of collecting and disposing of animal waste is considered both inconvenient and distasteful.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for collecting animal waste without having to simplify the task of collecting the waste, to improve the means for disposing of it, or even to avoid any physical contact with the waste. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices do not provide a housing that enables easy collection of animal waste into a container without any risk of physical contact with it and that automatically seals after the waste is deposited therein.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an animal waste collection apparatus and method for using it to collect animal waste without any chance of physically touching it and by containing it in an impermeable container for disposal.